Your Local Trail Still Counts

Notes From the Trail and the Couch

I signed up for a 2 night overnight backpacking trip on a whim.

I had never been backpacking, but had always thought I might want to try it. When the opportunity dropped into my lap to go with someone experienced that could show me the ropes, I jumped in feet first and barely looked back.

We met in the parking lot in the White Mountains in the rain and hiked most of that first day wet and chilly.

I thought “I can do this!” and as the mountain got steeper, my brain began it’s assault.

“You’re not a real hiker,” it said. “You have only done smaller hikes and they were HARD.”

I kept going, keeping pace with my fellow hikers and telling my brain to mind it’s business. It was a struggle.

I knew it the moment I saw the steel ladder I had to go up with a full pack and no handrails.

The White Mountains might just kill me yet.

I had been hiking in the Whites for 20 years at this point, but when the kids were little, we kept hikes shorter and less scary (I have one adventure seeker and one cautious lady). Kids are more about the micro than the macro, we eventually learned.

I FELT like a hiker, but something about this day in the rain, with a heavy pack on my back, did me in. I was in my head and wanted to turn back.

And honestly, if I wasn’t with other people, I might have.

I didn’t though, I persevered and when I arrived at camp that night in the dark rain, I couldn’t believe I had done it.

I think about that trip often now.

Not because it turned me into a backpacker. I’ve only done a handful of overnight trips since then. Life simply doesn’t allow for many weekends away at this stage.

These days, my hiking life looks different.

Most of my hikes are close to home. They’re squeezed between work shifts, family obligations, grocery runs, and all the ordinary responsibilities that come with midlife. Sometimes I have an entire day to spend in the White Mountains. More often, I have an hour or two on a local trail.

A younger version of me might have seen those shorter hikes as a compromise.

Now I see them for what they are: hiking.

Somewhere along the way, many of us started believing that hiking only counts if it’s difficult enough. Long enough. Steep enough. Impressive enough to post online.

But standing on that mountain years ago, arguing with the voice in my head that insisted I wasn’t a “real hiker,” taught me something important.

The goalposts never stop moving.

If you’ve hiked three miles, someone has hiked ten.

If you’ve hiked ten, someone has hiked twenty.

If you’ve climbed your local hill, someone has climbed a mountain.

If you’ve climbed a mountain, someone has crossed an entire range.

There will always be someone doing more.

The question isn’t whether you’re hiking enough to earn the title.

The question is much simpler:

Do you love being on the trail?

Because if you do, you’re already a hiker.

The internet would have us believe that an ordinary Tuesday trail walk doesn’t count, but in my world? It counts big time.

Those ordinary walks are what make up most of my hiking life. They are where I clear my head after a long shift, reconnect with my husband, notice the changing seasons, and remember that there is more to life than whatever is sitting on my to-do list.

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The Benefits of Hiking

I have found more peace and growth in my time on the trail, since I decided I wasn’t going to fit it into a box, than ever before. I’ve hiked with friends, I’ve hiked with neighbors, I’ve hiked with family and I’ve hiked solo.

Some of my favorite things about hiking aren’t the summit photo (although I love a good summit photo too!).

Things like:

• Fresh air

• Movement

• Stress relief

• Quiet

• Time to think

• Noticing nature

These are the parts of hiking I carry home with me.

The summit photos are wonderful, but it’s the quieter moments I remember most. The sunlight filtering through the trees. The sound of birds overhead. The feeling that whatever was weighing on me an hour ago somehow feels a little lighter now.

And do these benefits appear magically at mile 10? Nope. They are there 50 feet into the trail and all the way to the end.

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Some of My Favorite Hikes Weren’t Big Hikes

Now that summer is here, I’m sometimes home from work early enough to squeeze in a walk. Right outside my back door.

My husband and I will hit the trail for a short trip that ends with a gaggle of ducks in the local creek. They quack and flutter about when we come and I just can’t get enough!

This is what nature is about to me. Enjoying her in her natural state. Seeing the bounty she has to offer from ferns in the woods, sunlight peeking through the trees to the animals we are privileged to see on our way.

I said earlier, kids love the micro, not the macro... but maybe adults need more of that too. More peeks into the small things nature is sharing with us.

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Midlife Attitude Shift

In midlife, I’m finding more enjoyment in the small parts of life and hiking is no exception. While perimenopause is hitting me hard these days, I can always count on the trail for a reset. Between busy schedules, family responsibilities, aging joints and longer recovery times when I do get out, I don’t always have four hours to drive and find a bigger trail.

I don’t always have entire weekends to spend on epic adventures (although I squeeze them in where I can)

But I might have 45 minutes to head outside. And 45 minutes on a local trail is still time spent in the outdoors.

These days I consider a hiker simply someone who enjoys walking trails and spending time outside.

Let’s not complicate it.

It’s not the mileage.

It’s not the pace.

It’s not the elevation gain.

It’s just showing up. For yourself.

Here’s the thing... If all you have this week is a quick walk around the block, that’s enough.

If you turn around before the summit, that’s enough.

If your trail is 10 minutes from home and the hike only lasts a half hour, that counts too.

You don’t have to hike 10 miles to be a hiker.

You just have to go.

The local trail still counts. And so do you.

Thanks for spending a little time with me today.

See you next Sunday.

— Kaci

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